Historically, battles for bridges have often defined the context and eventual outcomes of war. Severing the connectivity between two groups of the opposing army, or preventing further advances over an otherwise insurmountable barrier usually seemed like a good way to gain an advantage for the longer term.

I'm not sure if I can remember a day when I have felt so gutted by a result as I did today following Man City's 6-1 thrashing of Derby rivals Man Utd at Old Trafford. The only memories that come close take me back to 1978, when as a loyal Stretford Ender standing in the cold and the rain, I witnessed 5-3 and 3-0 thrashings by both West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool respectively within the space of 3-4 days around Christmas time.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Wayne Rooney could miss 'weeks' - ESPN Soccernet Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Wayne Rooney could miss "a few weeks" of Manchester United's season. United served up a surprise at Stoke on Saturday, as they arrived at the Britannia Stadium without their star man. Ferguson told ESPN after the 1-1 draw that the club had endured a "nightmare" training session on Friday.

Rejoice, all ye fellow lilywhites. Admittedly it is also with a degree of trepidation (Old Trafford will do that to a Spurs fan) but goodness me it is wonderful finally to be able to look forward to Spurs in Premiership action tonight. ‘Tis with delight therefore that I invite you to gather round and peruse with me the permutations of team selection for the evening's festivities.

Football in England is all about tribalism. It's about supporting your village against the other, and it dates back to, well, forever. So I am informed by two gentlemen from London on this blog who have, apart from livening up proceedings around these parts, given us a peek into a few chants that we simply can't hear over the airwaves, HD or no HD.

Following Carragher's tackle on Nani in the match between Liverpool and Man U, Ferguson complained non stop, believing the tackle deserved red and that his team had been wronged.(....Diddums). Again that week, Fergie made known his feelings about JC and the injury inflicted on Nani, with no mention about the tackle by Rafael moments later - also deserving red - and the fact that Nani was back to full training after just 1 week, despite claims that he was going to be unavailable for a month.